Kardzhali Province

Kardzhali Province (Bulgarian: Област Кърджали, transliterated Oblast Kardjali) is a province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek prefectures of Xanthi, Rhodope and Evros to the south and east. Kardzhali Province area is 3209.1 km². Its main city is Kardzhali. The territory of Kardzhali province was acquired by Bulgaria during the First Balkan War in 1912. In 1913 the region was organized as the district (окръг, okrag in Bulgarian) of Mestanli. This district was part of Stara Zagora province from 1934 until 1949, then it was transferred to the newly formed Haskovo district. In 1959 Kardzhali became the center of a new district with similar borders to the current province. Between 1987 and 1999, the region was part...